Just finished the 70K kms service at 68K kms. Sadly running has drastically reduced as the Altis is pretty much being used as a spare car thanks to dad not having a driver and him using Uber and Ola. I pretty much rotate between the Ecosport and Altis only to keep the Altis running.
I didn't have much problems to report. These were the issues that came up from last April:
1. Rear brakes were making a springy sound when pressed firmly.
2. Front suspension was rattling over sharp edges
3. Lumbar support motor wasn't working
4. Front RH headlight cracked due to a small incident
I knew the headlamp assembly wasn't cheap so coordinated with the service GM Manju. I had paid in advance and got the lamp ordered so the car wouldn't be waiting for part to arrive. Car was dropped to Ravindu Toyota Avalhalli branch on Saturday where Manju and Murali took over.
1. Rear brake pads were down to 2mm and would last not more than 2000kms. Got these replaced as I didn't want to wait till they were completely worn out. - Rs.8750!
2. Front suspension has a dust seal on top of the strut that had worn out. This was replaced. - Rs.300 for both sides. This has completely fixed the suspension rattle. I was thinking that suspension arm bushes were the issue and asked to change the bushes but it looks like it was this part that was causing the rattling.
3. Lumbar support wasnt working and the motor was found faulty. This is a 6K+ part!! Opted out for this as the lumbar switch is hardly used and it was stuck at my driving position. Will look for other alternatives.
4. Headlight replaced. Luckily all bulbs were working so only the assembly was replaced. Rs.30,000
Total bill was Rs.46,000 with 30K for headlight replacement, 9K for rear brake pads and 7K for the regular service.
Car feels perfect now and I don't see any visit or work required on the car for 2017 and probably even in 2018 since most PMS work was carried out.
If you guys look at the amount, it's not cheap. I've mentioned it before, parts that need to be changed are not cheap but they don't fail as often. The headlight housing price is atrocious in my book. I see no reason why that is 30 grand!!!
• The rear brake pads are 8K for a set of 4 from Toyota. What is shocking is Bosch sells compatible rear brake pads for the Altis for Rs.1,000!!!
http://www.amazon.in/Bosch-F002H2384...=AT95IG9ONZD7S
• Then there's the xenon bulbs. The RHS HID bulb conked off and I got a shock when I found it was Rs.13,000 for just the bulb!
Ordered the exact same bulb from Amazon USA through member normally_crazy for a paltry USD $50 in comparison and did a DIY replacement of the bulb. Not easy and required moderate skill level to remove and fit the new bulb.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Also changed the parking lamps to LED for aesthetics:
https://www.flipkart.com/osram-inter...BEKSPRZKVAAEF2
• One of the horns was also intermittent. I changed this myself to Hella windtone (Skoda type) horn. The horn didn't really need to be changed, could have tightened the screw and cleaned the contacts. I was just bored of the old sound and wanted to change something.
http://www.amazon.in/Hella-011225832...rds=hella+horn
I keep dabbling with the thought of changing the car cause what we need is a small beater AT hatch rather than a luxury sedan like the corolla. But this car runs fine doesn't really burn a hole in the pocket in maintenance and will fetch very low resale. IT's pointless letting this car got for what it's worth. After checking out the new Honda City for 17 lakhs, you realize the value of the older cars especially ones like the Corolla. I paid 14.8L for this car in 2009 and now a City which felt nowhere close to this car in terms of build quality, fit finish and premium feel is 17+ lakhs. I maybe missing the sunroof and 6 airbags but the Corolla feels solid unlike the other japs and especially the Honda. Only thing I need to get is a good head unit with ipod and bluetooth connectivity and it will match or beat most of today's cars in features as well.
That's all for now folks. Till the next boring update.